I admire anyone who tries standup comedy the same way I admire lion dentists and people who hand-feed raw meat to wild alligators.
It takes total guts (and the confidence of a drunken toddler) to stand in front of a crowd of impatient strangers just to try to make them laugh.
Especially if that audience paid to be there or has ever gotten a laugh on their own.
Funny thing is, the moment you step onstage, a comedy crowd can tell whether you’re a pro or a total newbie. That’s because there are certain things a newer standup comedian does (or doesn’t do) that instantly pegs them as a rookie, and thereby un-trustworthy as a joke spewer.
Here are ten of those mistakes to avoid so your audiences will be more inclined to give you the comedy benefit of the doubt and lend you their precious laughs.
10 Mistakes New Comedians Make
Hold the mic weird
The first thing your audience will see you do is handle the microphone, and how you accomplish that tells them how long you’ve been in the business. Newbies fumble the act of taking the mic off the stand and tangle themselves in the cord and hold the mic too close or too far from their face. Practice using a mic with a cord on a stand so that it becomes a muscle memory like a pro.
Use hands to shield eyes from lights
It’s important that your audience can see you clearly onstage, so comedy clubs tend to use bright lights. The first few times you stand in the spotlight it’s overwhelming to your eyes. Newer comedians often use their hands to shield the lights which tells the crowd the experience is new to you. Do whatever it takes to get comfortable having bright lights shine upon you.
Lousy crowd eye contact
One major key to getting a stranger to laugh is having the guts to look them in the eyes. It tells them you believe in what you are about to deliver and makes them feel like your joke is meant for them. Pro comedians know how to sweep the full crowd with their eyes – turning their heads to make that happen and at times facing stage left and right as well as center. Rookies do not.
Present ideas, not jokes
Standup comedy is more than just telling a funny story, but the pros make it look like that’s all they’re doing. Newer comedians are still learning that it takes a series of premises, setups, and punchlines to get laughs, so part of that game plan is often ignored. If you don’t know how to write a proper joke, the audience catches on quickly to the idea that your material is not to be trusted.
Fail to have set memorized
Even if you have the best jokes, if you don’t know them by heart then your weak delivery (and “um’s”) will fail them. Comedy depends on precise timing, and if you are stumbling for the right words, that timing gets fumbled for the crowd. Nerves make it easy to forget what you were going to say, so be sure to practice your jokes in front of a mirror until they’re fully set in your skull.
Speed through their act
A big laugh killer is a comedian with no clue where the laughs live in their act. A pro has perfected their delivery and knows when to pause for laughs whereas a rookie is still figuring that part out. New comedians are nervous and tend to rattle off their jokes as if the most important thing is to get through the script. But that gives the crowd no chance to laugh and teaches them to stay quiet.
Fail to record set
To get better at standup comedy, record every single set and listen to it afterwards. Repeatedly. Some newer comics can’t be bothered with this and think that they will remember what they will need to improve after their stage time is over. Not true. Your recording tells you where you got the laughs you planned and where you didn’t, plus it reveals potential laughs that didn’t occur to you.
Work the crowd
If you’re new to standup comedy, chances are you are only going to be doing a five or ten minute set, so it makes zero sense to spend any of that time “working the crowd.” Not only does it say, “I’ve got no material prepared,” it pisses off the comedians that will be going after you since crowd work early in the show trains the audience to expect that. Do your jokes and perfect your act first.
Ask questions
At first, doing standup comedy is nerve-wracking, so in an effort to form a “connection” with the audience the temptation is to ask them questions. Don’t. It’s a time waster. And a sign that you’re uncomfortable with your act, that you don’t trust it to do the job of getting laughs. An audience is there to be entertained, not to help newer comedians feel more comfortable with the job. Deliver statements.
Do too much time
The biggest mistake a comedian can make is to do more time than what the club requested. It’s a big deal to go over because it throws off the rest of the show and tells the other comedians that you feel you are more important than them. It’s almost just as bad to end your set too early since the emcee is counting on you to do your time. Buy a watch, do your time, and obey the 1-minute light.
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